Aloha!

Thanks for joining us here on the Big Island! Mary and I arrived safely and not too exhausted on Sunday after a long flight from Chicago. There is a five hour time difference between here and there, so it's always a bit of an adjustment.

On Monday and Tuesday, Mary walked 10 miles each morning, and we did our usual trips to Safeway, Wal-Mart, and Costco, always exciting locations for us here, lol. Meanwhile, Laney and Elliott had flown from Vancouver to Honolulu on Monday, then on early Tuesday evening, I picked them up at the airport. I had checked them into their condo unit here earlier in the day, so the place was all set for them when they walked in. I picked them up about 6:15 or so, then drove back to Sea Village where Mary was waiting and helping to get things ready for dinner. I had told Laney and Elliott that we had decided to eat in because we knew they'd be tired... but they had no idea that there was another reason we weren't mentioning. American Idol!!! Being broadcast at exactly 7 pm, and the final performance of the season between the two Davids! After I dropped Laney and Elliott off at their unit, I told them to come over to ours whenever they were ready... and was secretly a little concerned about how rude they would consider us for having the TV on while we ate.

But, I'd left the door open, and just as American Idol was starting (and that well known musical) I heard Laney exclaim to Elliott just outside the door, "They've got Idol on!!!" Clearly they were thrilled, tee hee. So... we all got to eat and watch Idol, and speculate as to what would happen the next night. And we all agreed that we would eat out (in fact, Elliott insisted) but had to be back in time once again for the Idol FINAL results! We both liked both of the David's, but Laney and Elliott favored Archoleta (sp?) and we favored Cook. It didn't sound like Cook was going to win, according to Simon.

Wednesday, Mary did another early 10 mile walk, then we all went to the Farmer's Market and Safeway, drove around just a slight bit to see the village a bit, then returned to Sea Village for lunch. Elliott left to take a siesta, Mary wrote poems, and Laney and I sat around the swimming pool, eventually convincing ourselves that we should go in. I had feared cold water, but what a shock, it was delightfully warm, and we were both sorry we hadn't gone in sooner!

We got out of the pool at 4:30, and were ready for dinner and on the road at 5:00. We elected to go to Don The Beachcomber's at the Royal Kona Resort, less than a mile down the road. Laney had her first Mai Tai ever as we waited for the place to open -- 5:30 -- hadn't thought about that, lol. We had a great time and a lovely meal, including delicious bread, appetizers, main course, wine, and a wonderful cheesecake dessert. You'll see this in the pictures above!

About my hair. It's supposed to be straight, but when I come to Hawaii it goes wild, and I get all these obnoxious waves and curls. So, please pardon my 'do' lol.

Oh wait, I almost forgot... we got back to Sea Village exactly as Idol was starting, and two hours later found out the winner was... DAVID COOK! So, Mary and I won, lol. Actually, although both Elliott and Laney had favored the other David, they both felt that it was probably a blessing that he did not win, as they felt he was too innocent and not mature enough yet to handle it. I would agree with that -- wonderful voice, but...

Well, Mahalo for reading my ramble here. Not sure what we're doing today, but Elliott is going to make us a delicious dinner, and we're very excited! Aloha!